Family
by saywhat
Summary: Craig hasn't been the same since the tragic events that have occurred in his life. But something will happen that will make all the difference...
1. Discoveries

This story is a sequel to my other story, Tragic Beginnings. You don't have to read it to understand what's happening in this story but it's strongly recommended. 8-) R&R!  
  
"Emma I'm scared." Manny Santos paced her best friend's living room, wringing her hands trying to remember to breathe.  
"Don't be. There's nothing to be scared of," Emma Nelson told her unconvincingly.  
"Are you crazy?" Manny cried. "There's everything to be scared of!"  
Emma's mother, Spike came into the room just then, with a tray of three steaming cups of tea and some cookies. Manny took a cup just to have something to hold and sat down on a chair.  
"Manny, I know things look bad now, but it'll work out. Besides you're not even sure yet." Spike came to stand beside her.  
Manny just took a sip of her tea. She stared intently at the timer that sat on the coffee table. After a while, everything else in the room disappeared and all she could see was the dial twitching and hear it ticking away.  
After what seemed like an eternity, it rang. The sound jarred her back into the room and she looked up at Emma.  
"I'll go get it," Spike volunteered seeing that Manny was frozen to the chair. She hurried into the bathroom and was gone for a few seconds before returning. Without even looking at the test, Manny could see what the results had been from the look on Spike's face.  
"I'm pregnant," Manny whispered in disbelief.  
"Oh, sweetie." Spike came over to hug the stunned girl. Emma came to stand beside the chair and put her arm around her friend.  
Manny looked up at them both with tear-filled eyes. "What am I going to do? How can I tell my parents? And everyone at school? And.Craig."  
"Don't worry about that right now," Emma said soothingly.  
"Right," Spike agreed. "Right now the only one you have to worry about is yourself." She straightened. "I'm going to drive you to the clinic downtown, okay Manny? Just to make sure and so you can talk to someone about your options."  
"My options?" Manny then realized what Spike meant. "You mean abortion?"  
Spike looked stricken and quickly shook her head with a glance at Emma. "No, not at all. I mean your options about things in general. How to tell your parents and Craig, how the baby is..." She turned and hurried over to the door, grabbing her jacket. "Come on."  
"Can you come?" Manny asked Emma. "Please?"  
"Of course." Emma followed them out of the house to the car. She sat in the back next to Manny and they were silent for the first few minutes of the ride before Emma spoke.  
"I wonder if Radditch thinks we're cutting."  
Manny was confused as to why Emma was bringing this up but then realized that she was just trying to make conversation to take her mind off of everything. "I don't know. Probably. It would be weird for the both of us to be absent on the same day."  
"I'll write both of you a note," Spike offered.  
The car was silent again.  
"When did it happen?" Emma asked.  
"What?" Manny asked, startled by the sudden question.  
"Do you know when it happened? How.far along you are?"  
Manny nodded. "Yeah. It was about two months ago, I think." She didn't go into further detail and to her relief, Emma didn't press it.  
Spike glanced at the girls through her rearview mirror. "It's odd that you haven't had any symptoms or any notion of it before then."  
Manny shrugged. "Well I thought I wasn't getting my period because I was training so hard for the spirit squad. And I just thought I had some sort of stomach virus. It wasn't until this morning that they connected and I knew." She trailed off and looked out the window. It was a gorgeous day out. Fluffy white clouds hung in the sky like tuffs of cotton dropped on a baby blue blanket. The sun was high in the sky but Manny somehow couldn't feel its warmth. They sped by several homes and slowed to a stop at a red light. In front of a small but pleasant white and green house, two small girls were drawing on the sidewalk with chalk. Their mothers sat in lawn chairs laughing and chatting as their children played. Manny watched the girls, with a strange fluttering feeling in her stomach.  
"Hey," Emma said softly. Manny turned to her. "It's gonna be okay. I'm gonna be here for you, whatever you need." She patted her friend's hand.  
Manny smiled gratefully then turned back to watch the children again. "Remember when we used to do that? After school we would just come home and play hopscotch for hours."  
"Yeah, I remember," Emma replied. "Those were good times. We didn't have a care in the world."  
"Yeah," Manny agreed as Spike drove on and the two girls disappeared from sight. "Not a care in the world." 


	2. Chance Meeting

Joey Jeramiah woke with a start when his alarm clock buzzed. He was trembling and bathed in sweat. Staring at the ceiling, he caught his breath and allowed his heart to return to its normal speed.

_Just another dream_, he reminded himself as he silenced the alarm.

Joey had been having nightmares about the day the accident had occurred. What was the worst about some of them was that in them, Angela had survived and everyone was happy again. But then he would wake up and remember the truth. 

With a sigh, Joey rolled out of bed and took a fast shower. Upon emerging from the bathroom was surprised to see that his stepson, Craig's, door was still shut tight. Quietly, he pushed the door open and entered the dark room. He could see Craig's sleeping form curled up under the comforter. Apparently he had shut off his alarm clock when it buzzed and fell back asleep. 

Joey hated to wake him, but it was Craig's first day back to school in over a week. He had missed a lot of work and needed to catch up.

"Craig?"

"Mmm?" 

"It's morning Craig. Time to get up." Joey went over to the window and opened the blinds, allowing thin streaks of light to appear on the bed. Craig groaned and rolled over. "Come on, Craig, you're gonna be late."

"Don't feel good," Craig mumbled.

Joey sighed and sat on the edge of his stepson's bed. "I know you don't Craig. I don't either but you have to go to school and I have to go to work." When he received no answer, he continued. "I miss her just as much as you do but right now, you need to get up and get back into the world. See your friends. You haven't talked to them since-since the funeral and I really think it's best that you keep-"

"I have a fever."

"Oh." Joey leaned over and put his hand on the boy's forehead. Sure enough it was warm and slightly damp. "Okay, I'll go get the thermometer." He hurried into the bathroom and returned a few minutes later. 

Craig obediently opened his mouth and Joey placed the thermometer under his tongue.

"I'll be right back." Joey left to call the school and tell them that Craig still wouldn't be coming in that day. When he returned he checked the thermometer. "One hundred and four! Come on Craig, we've got to get you to a doctor." He opened the closet and found Craig's jacket then helped him get it on. Within minutes they were in Joey's car on the way to the neighborhood clinic.

Joey parked in the first vacant spot he saw then helped Craig out of the car and through the front doors straight up to the counter.

"Hello," Joey said to the young receptionist. "Uh, my stepson, Craig, is running a very high fever of about 104."

"Here, fill these out," the receptionist replied, handing him a clipboard with a form attached to it. "I'll have a nurse come out in a few minutes. You two can wait in the waiting area."

Joey took the clipboard and tucked it under his arm. He was so busy guiding Craig along that he didn't notice the other three people in the waiting room until one of them said his name.

"Joey?"

He looked up to see Spike, Emma and Manny sitting in the waiting room looking very surprised. "Spike, girls, what are you doing here?"

They all glanced at each other as Joey eased Craig into a chair across from them then sat beside him.

"School project," Emma piped up suddenly. "We're doing research for health class."

"During a school day?" Joey asked, surprised.

"Yeah, um, Radditch was okay with it, because it's for learning purposes," Spike told him. "And I had the day off so I decided to take them."

Joey shrugged. "Okay."

"What about you guys?" Emma asked, glancing at Craig. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, Craig was just running a high fever. I'm sure it's nothing serious," Joey assured them. He noticed that Manny had been silent the entire time, staring down at the pamphlets in her hands. He remembered that Craig had broken up with her and realized why she felt awkward.

Just then a doctor emerged. "Manny Santos?" she called.

"That's us," Spike said with a quick smile. "Sh-she's kindly offered to talk to us about everything for the girls' project." 

"Feel better, Craig," Emma said.

"Thanks," Craig murmured.   
Manny said nothing as they followed the doctor through the swinging doors but Joey noticed Craig watching her go with a slight frown on his face.

"You two still on the outs, huh?" Joey asked as he began to fill out the form.

"I guess." 

"That's too bad. What exactly happened between you guys, if you don't mind me asking," Joey said, a bit too casually. He had noticed Craig had been withdrawing from his friends since his sister's death and wanted desperately to help somehow.

Craig shrugged. "No reason. I had a lot of stuff going on."

Joey was about to pursue the matter when a nurse came out and led them both into another room.

After some tests, it was discovered that Craig had a mild pneumonia. The doctor informed them that he should stay out of school for another few weeks until he was completely better. Reluctantly, Joey agreed. Not only would Craig grow even farther behind in his classes, this was an opportunity to distance himself more from his friends.

When the doctor left to write out a prescription for some medication, Craig spoke. "Don't worry about school. I'm sure the school will arrange something to get me the work."

_Your schoolwork isn't all I'm worried about_, Joey thought as he nodded. Then he had a thought. "Craig, do you know how you managed to come down with pneumonia?" 

+++

Craig was sure of the day he had gotten sick but didn't want to share it with Joey. Instead he told him that one of his friends at the funeral had been sick and the cold weather must have made it worse. 

But during the car ride home, Craig recalled the day after his sister had died. It had been a cold day, one of the coldest that year. The wind had blown through the leafless branches of the trees with ferocity and eventually the skies had opened up, a light drizzle falling.

Craig couldn't take being inside his house anymore. The phone had rang nonstop with relatives and friends offering their condolences. Everything reminded him of Angela. Walking past her room had made him break down in tears. Joey had been busy trying to plan the funeral with Caitlin's help. When they left to pick out a coffin, Craig had decided to escape for a few hours. With no real destination, he had walked outside for a long time, not caring about the dismal weather or the fact that it was nearly pitch black outside. He thought about everything, recent events and past ones. More than ever, he wished that his mother was still alive. When he had been younger, she had always had a way of knowing what to do, ensuring Craig that everything would work out. Older and jaded, he had figured out that that rule didn't work for him. Nothing seemed to work out for him ever. Even the most joyous events were often torn apart and Craig had decided that he was done with it. 

When he had returned home, wet through and nearly frozen, he had come to the decision that he wasn't going to let himself get hurt ever again. _Joy only brings pain; the sun only brings rain_, he had scribbled into the notebook he used to write songs. It had taken him a long time and he'd been through a lot but now he understood that. Being close to people wasn't worth it.

He'd never make that mistake again.

  



	3. Choices

Manny hadn't been able to believe her eyes when she saw Craig and Joey walk in the doors at the clinic. Now, as she sat on the paper-covered table, in one of the rooms, she still couldn't believe the coincidence.  
"Sorry I made up such a lame excuse," Emma was saying.  
Manny shook her head. "You did better than I did. I couldn't even speak." She remembered the flood of emotions that had hit her when she had seen Craig. Elation, anger, guilt, sadness, all mingled together, wound up lodged in her throat, rendering her unable to say a word to him.  
Spike glanced at her watch looking a bit impatient. "I wonder what's taking them so long."  
"Y-you don't think that.anything could be wrong, could it?" Manny asked as the thought occurred to her.  
"Oh, no, no of course not. They're probably just getting together some information. After all, what they need to tell you is different than what they would need to tell someone else."  
After another few minutes, Dr. Perone re-entered the room, carrying several pamphlets.  
"Well, Manny, the results of your home-pregnancy test were accurate- you're roughly eleven weeks pregnant."  
"Eleven weeks?!" Manny exclaimed. "But I haven't even started to show!"  
"A lot of mothers don't show in the first trimester, some hardly showing at all," Dr. Perone explained. "Especially since you told me that you've been training hard for cheerleading." She paused and glanced at Emma and Spike. "Would you two mind if I could speak with Manny alone for a few minutes?"  
Spike and Emma quickly left, promising to meet Manny out in the waiting room.  
Dr. Perone went to look at Manny's chart. "Okay, Manny, here's the deal. You're fourteen years old and you're pregnant. I can imagine what kinds of things are going through your mind right now." She handed Manny the pamphlets. "These will give you some information but they won't give you all of it."  
Manny took them and put them with the others she had found in the waiting room.  
"You have three options," the doctor continued. "Keep the baby and raise it yourself, abortion, or putting it up for adoption."  
Manny nodded slowly. "And how do I decide that?"  
Dr. Perone smiled kindly. "Sorry, sweetie, that's one of the things that I nor those pamphlets will be able to tell you. No one else can help you out either. Ultimately it's your decision. You have to do what you feel is right, what you will be able to live with."  
"But I can't decide," Manny said, feeling tears spring into her eyes at the overwhelming decision. "I mean, my parents have always raised me that abortion is wrong. Not that I can even talk to them about it. And Craig, the baby's father should have a say in it too, shouldn't he? Well, then again, maybe he shouldn't." Her words were overlapping each other as she grew more and more hysterical.  
Dr. Perone quickly took the girl's hand, rubbing it soothingly. "Calm down, honey. Listen, only you can make this choice. Not your parents, not the baby's father, no one but you." She handed Manny a tissue, which she took gratefully, dabbing at her eyes.  
"How long do I have to decide? I mean, if I decide to go with an ab- abortion."  
"Probably only a few more weeks. After that, most doctors will refuse to do it for you at all. Complications are more likely."  
Manny nodded. "Well I probably won't do that. I don't really believe in it, you know?" She sighed then lowered herself from the table. "Thanks a lot for your help."  
"No problem, Manny. Good luck, whatever you decide to do."  
Manny found Emma sitting in a chair with Spike milling around the waiting room looking at the magazines in the rack. When she entered, they both hurried over.  
"How did everything go?" Spike asked.  
"Are you okay?" Emma asked simultaneously.  
Manny smiled. "Everything went fine. And I'm okay. Really."  
Spike smiled back. "Come on, girls. Why don't I take you out for lunch?" She led them out the doors towards the car.  
"Sounds great," Emma said.  
"Sure," Manny agreed. "Great." Even Manny herself was surprised at how calm she was being despite the circumstances. The prospects that loomed before her were enormous and yet Dr. Perone had helped her realize what she had to do. Knowing that, she felt a bit more secure.  
"Have you decided what you're going to do?" Emma asked after they had been served at a nearby diner.  
Manny nodded. "Yeah."  
"Really?" Spike looked surprised.  
Manny took a small bite of her cheeseburger, suddenly not feeling so hungry. "I guess I knew all along. I have to keep the baby."  
Emma patted her friend's hand. "That's great. And I'm going to help you as much as I can."  
"We both will," Spike added.  
"Thanks so much you guys. I don't know what I would have done if you both hadn't been there." Manny suddenly felt her stomach heave. "Excuse me." She abruptly got up from the table and hurried to the bathroom.  
As she knelt by the toilet, feeling miserable, she realized that this was just beginning. 


	4. Secret's Out

Weeks passed. Despite her best efforts, Manny was starting to show. As her stomach grew thicker, her confidence waned. She wore baggy sweatshirts and bulky sweaters when she could but soon she wouldn't be able to hide her pregnancy from her classmates much longer.  
She had told her parents and as she had expected, they were furious. She decided to move in with Emma for a little while until her parents had time to calm down-if they ever did.  
She also obsessed nearly everyday over how she was going to tell Craig. She was almost grateful that he was absent from school for such a long time. She knew that she would have had no choice but to tell him if they saw each other everyday. But now, the only way she would be able to tell him would be to either call him or visit him, both of which she was not ready to do.  
Craig, meanwhile, was at home all the time, mostly lying in his bed, sleeping or watching television. Joey was worried about him despite the fact that Craig insisted that he was still sick. He knew that Craig was in some stage of depression and did all he could to help. He'd try to get Craig to come with him on errands or at least out of his bed. These occasions were few and far between. Marco and Jimmy visited regularly to bring him the homework he missed but they rarely stayed for longer than a few minutes. They both knew that something was wrong with their friend but couldn't quite reach him.  
By the time April rolled around, Manny started missing school, often too sick in the morning to attend classes. She also resigned from the spirit squad to the shock and dismay of Paige. The head cheerleader confronted Manny one afternoon in the girls' bathroom. Manny was washing her hands at the sink when Paige stormed in.  
"Manny, what is the deal with you quitting the squad? We have that tournament coming up in like no time and you bail on us?"  
Manny looked away. "Paige, I'm sorry but I have some other stuff going on right now that I need to concentrate on."  
Paige waved that away. "We've been training so hard to win this thing and you were with us up until recently. You'd better have a good reason to screw us over."  
Manny gathered up her books as the bell rang. "Look, Paige I have to go to class."  
"No, you have to stay here and listen to me." Paige moved to block the doorway.  
Manny rolled her eyes. "Get out of my way." As she struggled to pass by Paige, her books slipped out of her hands and tumbled to the ground. Groaning, she bent to pick them up. Paige slowly bent also but only picked up one thing. It was a pamphlet about teen pregnancy. Manny froze when she saw it.  
"Manny?" Paige looked back and forth from the pamphlet to Manny. "Are- are you.pregnant?"  
Manny was silent as she continued to gather her books.  
"Is that why you quit the squad so suddenly? And why you've been wearing all that baggy clothing?" Paige didn't need an answer to know it was true. "Oh God."  
"Paige, you can't tell anyone," Manny pleaded. "Not even Hazel, not anyone."  
Paige nodded slowly. "Uh-huh. So who's the father?"  
Manny put a hand to her forehead. "Paige, I'm serious." She put her books back on the counter and leaned against one of the stalls. "I'm not ready to tell anyone. The only people who know right now are Emma and her mom. Oh yeah, and my parents but I might as well have not even told them."  
"What do you mean?'  
"Well, I've been staying at Emma's recently cause they flipped out when I told them," Manny admitted.  
Paige was silent for a moment. "Manny, I'm sorry I just bugged out on you about the stupid tournament. I had no idea something this huge was going- wait a sec. You just said that only Emma, her mom and your parents know about the baby? That means."  
"I haven't told the father yet. I know, I know, I have to and I will soon. Just not right now." Manny knew Paige was dying to know but wasn't sure if she should tell her. "I know you want to know who the father is but- "  
"Craig?"  
Manny was so surprised that she didn't even have a chance to deny it. "How did you.?"  
"I heard about your whole little thing from Ashley," Paige replied. "Figured it would be him. So you haven't told him at all? He's just lying at home sick in bed with no idea of what's going on with you?"  
"Pretty much."  
"Manny, you have to tell him. Wouldn't you want to know if your positions were reversed?"  
"Of course I would. But how do you tell someone that, Paige?" Manny felt tears spring into her eyes. She had been getting very emotional over the past few days, especially in relation to her pregnancy. "I can't do it, I just can't tell him."  
It was one of the first times in Manny's life she had seem Paige look concerned about someone other than herself.  
"Hey, Manny, don't worry. You'll find a way to tell him." She put her arm around the younger girl. "And Craig's usually a pretty nice guy. I'm sure he won't freak out on you like most guys would."  
"You think?" Manny felt a small glimmer of hope.  
"Sure," Paige said.  
Manny had to admit that she felt a bit better when she gathered her books to head off to class. Surprisingly, Paige had actually given her the courage to do the thing she had been dreading.  
But neither one of them saw Ashley quickly hurry down the hall as they opened the door to the bathroom.  
  
+++  
  
The walk to Craig's house from the school was longer than Manny had suspected. Winded by the time she turned onto his street, she paused and took several deep breaths before walking up to his front door. Hesitating for just a minute, she rang the bell. Hearing it gong inside the house, it was a few minutes before Joey opened the door looking harried.  
"Manny!" he said, obviously very surprised. "Uh, come on in."  
"Thanks." Manny entered the house. She had never been inside Craig's house before. Their rendezvous had been mostly in either his garage or her house when her parents were out. Looking around, it looked like a typical bachelor's pad. She could imagine what it had looked like only a few weeks earlier. A tiny purple parka on the coat rack she now hung her own coat on; various toys and stuffed animals scattered around the living room; crude drawings hung on the refrigerator with pride.  
"Craig's upstairs," Joey told her. "I'm sorry, I have to run out to the car lot but you can head on up. It's the second door on the right, you should be able to tell."  
Feeling strange, she headed up the stairs. Immediately she realized what Joey had meant. Craig's door had several signs on it including a parental advisory poster and bumper stickers with clever sayings.  
Manny tried to slow down her speeding heart rate before knocking gently.  
"Come in," Craig called.  
She pushed open the door and was surprised at how dark the room was. The light wasn't on and the shade had been pulled down almost all the way. Most of the light in the room came from the television. Craig was sitting up in his bed.  
"Manny?"  
"Hey Craig." Manny stepped into the room and closed the door behind her. "How are you feeling?"  
"Okay I guess." He was watching her warily, as though she might suddenly try to attack him. "I had pneumonia."  
"Yeah I heard." She looked around for a place to sit and finally her only choice in the small room was the edge of the bed. "Listen, there's something I have to tell you. It's probably going to be a huge shock-I know it was a huge shock to me."  
"All right."  
Manny took a deep breath and looked Craig straight in the eyes. "I'm pregnant."  
Craig didn't respond for a long time. He just stared at the television with no expression on his face until Manny wondered if he was going into shock.  
"Craig?"  
The sound of her voice seemed to make him remember that someone else was in the room with him and he spoke. "I-it's mine?"  
Manny nodded.  
"Oh. How.when.are." Craig couldn't seem to figure out what question he wanted to ask. "Are you going to keep it?"  
Manny nodded again.  
"Oh," Craig repeated. "Wh-when did you find out?"  
"About three weeks ago."  
"Three weeks ago?!" Craig suddenly seemed fully alert. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"  
"I-I couldn't, Craig. You don't know how hard it was for me to come over here today. I didn't know how to tell you something like this."  
"Gee I know saying the words 'I'm pregnant' must be difficult. This isn't the kind of thing you keep from someone. I'm going to be father," he said in disbelief. "And you've known for three weeks without informing me."  
Manny felt anger and hurt start to flare up. "Craig, I'm still getting used to the idea myself. You've been sick and not in school and I didn't want to tell you before. Besides," she added, "it's not like you've never kept secrets that you shouldn't have."  
Craig looked stricken. "I can't believe you're throwing that back in my face. Anyway, this is different. Much different." He put his face into his hands. "I can't believe this happened."  
Disillusioned and confused, Manny stood up. "Maybe I shouldn't have come. I'll let myself out." She left quickly before the tears started to fall down her cheeks. She couldn't have predicted a worse reaction from him. 


	5. Falling Apart

"Pregnant?!" 

"Yeah, I overheard Manny telling Paige in the bathroom," Ashley said, adjusting the phone on her shoulder so she could type on the computer as she spoke. It was almost midnight that evening. Ashley had been eager to share what she had overheard but had been forced to wait until Ellie returned her phone call.

"Wow," Ellie replied. "Wow, that's crazy. She's only fourteen. And Craig's the father?"

"Yep." Ashley couldn't help but feel a small sense of satisfaction. "Serves her right for what she did. She knew I was dating Craig and went after him anyway."

There was silence at the other end for a few seconds. "I thought you forgave them for that whole thing."

"Wrong, El, I forgave Craig. Not Manny. She never once apologized for what she did. At least he showed some guilt and made an effort to tell me that he was sorry." 

"I guess. But I mean, you don't feel bad for her at all?" Ellie asked.

"Sure I feel bad. For that poor baby. I don't know how she's going to raise it. She might have to drop out of school." 

"It's a wonder that I haven't heard about this already. I've been online most of the day and no one's said a word. You'd think since Paige knows it would have been all over the school and the next few towns over."

Ashley shrugged. "Paige promised she wouldn't tell anyone. I guess she feels bad for her or something. Don't worry, though. Everyone will probably know my tomorrow."

"What makes you say that?" Ellie asked.

"Oh just a little e-mail I am sending right now to Terri."

"What? Terri loves juicy gossip like that, though."

"Exactly." Ashley clicked her mouse on the send button.

"Ash." Ellie sounded disappointed.

Ashley frowned. "What?"

Ellie sighed. "You know, I was thinking about it and I respect what you did when you told Craig you forgave him. At first I was against it, but I realized that you were being the bigger person and that takes a lot. But now you're being a little."

"A little what?" Ashley demanded.

"A little vindictive. I mean, sure Manny did a bad thing and now she's paying for it. But don't you think that the punishment might be a little harsh for the crime?"

"She wanted to be an adult with an 'adult' relationship and now she's going to have to deal with the 'adult' consequences," Ashley said firmly.

"I guess. But how would you feel if you were in her shoes?"

Ashley paused. She couldn't imagine the idea of becoming pregnant at such a young age. Still, she was convinced that she wasn't doing anything wrong by telling Terri. "Well, I wouldn't get myself into that situation."

"But you could have," Ellie challenged. "I mean, accidents happen all the time. You were going to have sex with Craig. What if the condom broke, or something and you were the one who got pregnant?"

Ashley sighed. She had to admit that Ellie was making some sense. Maybe she had made a mistake. But it was too late to do anything about it today. She would just have to try to find Terri the next morning before the rumor spread.

+++

Manny walked to school, exhausted. She had spent almost the entire night replaying the events from Craig's house over and over in her head. She still couldn't believe that he had reacted the way he had. 

It was a dreary day with heavy rain clouds hanging low in the sky. The air had the smell of water and beads of condensation covered most cars. Most of the people hanging outside Degrassi School were wearing hoods or carrying umbrellas.

Before Manny even entered the building, she noticed the whispers and the staring. Unsure of what was going on, Manny walked slowly into the school and down the hall. As she walked, she noticed many girls laughing as she passed. Manny picked up her pace when she heard the words 'slut' and 'baby'. Soon, she was almost running and nearly ran straight into Emma as she was coming out of a classroom. 

"Come in here," Emma said quickly, grabbing her friend's arm and dragging her inside the room.

"What's going on?" Manny looked around to see Mr. Simpson sitting at his desk, watching them.

"It's out," Emma said breathlessly. "Look." She pulled Manny over to the computer and Mr. Simpson tilted the screen so they could see. It was a forwarded email that had been sent to dozens of people. 

"I even somehow got the email from someone in my class," Mr. Simpson explained as Manny scanned the screen in horror

"Oh God." She sank heavily into a chair. Suddenly, she looked up. "Who sent it? Paige?"

Emma shook her head. "No. It was Ashley."

"What? How did she find out?"

"It says here that she overheard you talking about it yesterday," Emma told her, pointing to the screen. "I can't believe you told Paige."

"She kinda found out on her own." Manny explained about the dropped pamphlet. 

"What are you going to do?" Emma asked.

Manny shrugged, feeling helpless. "What can I do? Everyone was going to find out eventually. At least it's over with now." She sighed. "I just can't believe Ashley did that. She didn't seem that evil."

"Well you can't blame her." Emma stopped abruptly as though the words had slipped out of her mouth without her consent.

Manny raised her eyebrows. "What do you mean, you can't blame her?"

Emma shook her head quickly. "Nothing."

"No you obviously meant something or else you wouldn't have said it. Do you mean to tell me that you think it was fine for her to have told the world about this?" Manny asked, rising from her seat.

"No," Emma said hesitantly. "It's just that.well I can see where she's coming from. After all, if you hadn't have messed around with Craig while he was going out with Ash, none of this would have happened."

Manny felt as though she had been punched in the stomach. "Well, I'm glad you're on my side."

"Manny, I am on your side. I just think that you can look at it from two different points of - "

"That's fine," Manny said evenly. "You go look at it from your two different points of view. I have to get to class and be stared at some more." She gathered up her belongings. "Oh yeah, and you don't have to come with me to the doctor tomorrow. I'll manage on my own. Gotta get used to it." She turned and walked out of the classroom letting the door slam shut behind her. 

As she headed off to class, trying to keep from turning and running out of the building, she spotted Ashley and Terri talking. Manny walked directly up to them. Terri spotted her coming and quickly alerted Ashley who turned to face her.

"Manny-"

"I know what you did, Ashley. So now everyone knows about me. No more secrets."

"I didn't mean for-"

"For what?" Manny snapped. "For your little email to wreck the very little time I had left to be able to hold my head up in this school? Well let me tell you something I learned-your actions have consequences." With that, Manny spun on her heel and quickly stalked down the hall, nearly blinded by tears and rage. Surrounded by people, she had never felt so alone. 

  



	6. Unexpected Help

JT waited by his first period class staring down the hall intently, looking away only to check his watch. He had arrived at school early that morning and had been standing by the door for nearly fifteen minutes. Finally, Emma walked down the hall. She looked upset but JT grabbed her by the arm as she started to enter the classroom.

"What?" Emma asked as he pulled her aside.

"Hello? Manny? What's going on with her?"

Emma wrenched her arm free. "I'm sure you know by now."

"Yeah, I got the email. But, I mean, that's not the whole story? There's gotta be more to it then just what I read. Manny wouldn't do something like that."

Emma just shrugged. "Well she did."

JT shook his head. "I thought you guys were friends again. You should have all the info."

"I thought we were too," Emma replied sadly before turning and entering the classroom.

JT had barely swallowed what Emma had said before he saw Manny headed straight for him. She wore a baggy sweatshirt and walked slightly hunched over. 

"H-hey Manny," he said hesitantly. Then he paused, seeing that her eyes were glassy and there were tearstains on her cheeks. 

"Hi," she replied quietly.

JT could see that she needed to talk to someone. "Come on. Real quick." He took her hand and led her over to the Zen Garden. They sat on a bench blocked by bushes. 

"Manny, I know what's going on."  
"You and the rest of the school," Manny interjected. "That email apparently got around."

"Yeah, well it wasn't a nice thing for Ashley to do. I'm not here to judge you or anything like that. You just looked like you needed a friend. I can be your shoulder to cry on," he added with a smile. "Even to hug…or cuddle with."

Manny laughed. "Thanks." Then she sighed. "It looks like you're the only one who hasn't had their mind made up about me. Even Emma secretly thinks I got what was coming to me."

JT waved a hand dismissively. "She'll come around. You guys are best friends and I'm sure that whatever happened will work out. At least you've got Craig."

Manny froze at the sound of his name and looked away.

"…what?" JT asked, confused. "Isn't Craig the father?"

Manny nodded, biting her lip to hold back tears. She pretended to be distracted by finding something in her bag as she wiped her eyes discreetly.

"Then what's the problem? Unless… he doesn't want to have anything to do with the baby?" JT knew without hearing Manny's response that it was true. "No way. He seemed like a responsible guy."

Manny shrugged. "Thought so too. Then again, I can't really blame him. I mean, of course he wasn't going to take the news well. But still I had hoped…I dunno…I just hoped that maybe he would want to be a part of it. But he way he reacted…I don't think I can even ask him."

JT patted her arm comfortingly while his mind raced. He hadn't expected Craig to react that way. He felt angry but also a bit sorry for Craig. After all, JT didn't know how he would react if he found out he was a father. Still there had to be something he could do.

+++

Craig lay in his bed, late that afternoon, staring at his ceiling. He had no idea how long he had been lying there. All he could think about was what he was going to do. The news from Manny yesterday had thrown him completely off balance. 

_A father_, Craig thought, resting his arm across his forehead. _I'm going to have a little boy or girl in a few months who will call me Dad_. Or would they? He had to admit he felt badly for his reaction when Manny had told him. He had been upset and possibly overreacted. Still it wasn't the kind of news you received everyday. Now he wasn't even sure if Manny wanted him to be a part of the baby's life anymore.

The doorbell rang just then and Craig groaned. Joey was at work, which meant Craig would have to get up and get the door. 

Swinging his feet down over the side of his bed, he got up and trudged out of his room and down the stairs. Running a hand through his messy hair, he pulled open the door, stifling a yawn.

To his surprise, JT stood on his doorstep, looking a bit uncertain.

"Craig." JT stepped inside. "May I come in?"

"You're kinda already in," Craig replied, shutting the door. "What are you doing here?"

JT was looking around. "Nice place."

"Yes you've seen it before," Craig reminded him, very confused. 

"So I have." JT cleared his throat. "Let me cut to the chase. I know something about someone and I'm here to help that someone with that something."

Craig still had no idea what the boy was talking about. "I thought you were going to cut to the chase."

JT rubbed his hands together and seated himself on the couch. Craig next across from him in the recliner.

"Okay, well if you're in a rush, I'll tell you straight out. You're a big jerk." Craig saw JT's hands twitch slightly as though he were ready to block a punch Craig might throw.

"I'm a…what?"

"Y-you heard me," JT stammered, a bit more hesitantly. "A jerk."

Craig shook his head, trying to understand what was happening. "And why is that?"

"Because although she made some mistakes, I've known Manny my whole life and she's got a good heart. And she doesn't deserve to be treated this way." As he spoke, JT grew more and more confident. "She's going through a really rough time right now and she wants you to be there for her. But you're not. That's why you're a jerk."

Craig was starting to get annoyed. "How do you know about—listen, I don't need this right now."

"Yes you do," JT insisted. He smirked slightly. "You could also use a good swift kick in the—"

"Get out," Craig interrupted. "I, um, need to rest and you need to leave."

JT stood up. "Fine. I'll go. But I'll be watching you." He backed out of the doorway and nearly tripped down the stoop. Craig rolled his eyes as he slammed the door shut then leaned against it.

He felt perfectly fine and needed more rest like he needed a hole in his head. Still, he needed to get JT out of his house. Despite Craig's attitude towards him, JT's words had stung. Deep down, Craig knew that at least part of what he was saying was true. 

With a sigh, he trudged back up stairs to do some serious thinking. When he was halfway up to his room, the doorbell rang again. Groaning loudly, Craig spun and hurried to the door. 

"JT I thought I said—" He froze seeing Ashley standing in front of him.

"Hi, Craig, how are you?" she said solemnly.

"Uh, I'm fine." Craig stared at her.

She smiled slightly. "You gonna keep me out here all day?"

Craig shook his head quickly, and stepped back, motioning for her to enter. She did so and he led her into the living room. They sat across from each other in the same positions he and JT had sat in only minutes before. 

Ashley leaned forward and took Craig's hands in her own. "Craig, I know you must be going crazy right now with all the stuff that's been going on. And that's totally understandable. But I have to tell you something." She looked down then back up at Craig. "I did something. Bad."

"What did you do?"

She took a deep breath. "I…I found out about Manny being pregnant and basically told everyone in school."

"You did what?!" Craig pulled his hands away from her. _So that's how JT knew_, he thought, his mind racing. "Why would you do that?"

"I-I don't know. I was still angry at her and thought at the time that it was justified but now I feel awful about it."

"And everyone knows that I'm the father?"

Ashley nodded, biting her lip. "I'm really sorry, Craig. That was a really stupid thing for me to do."

Craig leaned his head back against the recliner. He could see where Ashley was coming from and had to admit that he would probably have been just as vindictive if their positions were reversed. "I know you're sorry. It's okay, I guess. Everyone was bound to find out sooner or later."

Ashley looked relieved. "So how are you doing? I can't imagine what you must be thinking right now. You're going to be a dad. Are you excited about tomorrow?"

Craig frowned. "Tomorrow?"

"You know, Manny's going to get her first sonogram taken. Paige told me."

"Oh."

Ashley leaned forward, a slight frown playing her face. "You are going with her, aren't you?"

Craig shrugged. "Probably not, considering the fact that she never told me about it and that she probably doesn't even want me involved. I don't even know if I want to be involved." It was the first time he voiced the words and they shocked even him.

"What?! What do you mean, you don't want to be involved? It's your baby, Craig. It's a part of you. Why wouldn't you want to help raise it?"

"Because what if…" Craig trailed off, swallowing a lump that was rising in his throat.

"What if what?" Ashley asked gently.

He hesitated for a second. "What if…what if I lose the baby too?" he whispered. He blinked back tears as memories of his sister flooded back into his mind.

"Oh Craig." Ashley put a hand over his which rested on the armrest. "You can't think like that. You can't live your life by 'what ifs'. Not knowing is what life is all about. Sometimes bad things happen but sometimes, really incredible things happen too."

"But you can't know—"

"Maybe you can't. But some things you can control. You can choose to help Manny to raise this baby and be the amazing father I know you can be. Or you can choose to abandon them both."

Just then, the front door opened and Joey walked in. 

"Oh," he said surprised. "Hi Ashley."

Ashley smiled stiffly at him. "Hi Joey. Uh, I was just leaving. Bye Craig. Feel better." She gave him a meaningful look before exiting.

Craig sat in the chair, her words echoing in his mind. He still didn't know if he could do it. Going with Manny tomorrow would mean exposing himself to the possibility of even more pain. 

"You okay, Craig?" Joey's voice pierced his thoughts.

"Yeah. I'm just gonna go to my room." He quickly hurried up the stairs before Joey could question him further. 

That evening, as Craig fell asleep, he still didn't know what he would do. But answers often come in dreams and he would dream heavily that night.  
  


  



	7. The Dream

Very short chapter, I know. The next one will be longer, promise.  
  
A little girl was playing by a stream. It was a windy day and the water sped dangerously downstream. But the girl didn't care that it was cold out. She ran through the grass, chasing a yellow and brown butterfly. The sun was partially blocked by heavy clouds, promising rain. The trees added to the pools of shadow and soon the girl lost sight of her prize. Still she continued merrily along, skipping to some joyous song inside her head. Her shiny dark curls bounced until she skidded to a stop. She noticed something on the rocks by the water. It was a baby bird, chirping helplessly. It was being splashed continuously by the frigid water and was growing weaker. Soon it would probably topple into the icy waves and be swept away.  
The girl hurried over to the rocks. She stretched out her arm but couldn't reach the animal. Carefully, she climbed out onto the rocks. They were drenched and slippery but she managed to keep her balance. Her shoes and bottoms of her pants were soaked but she knelt and reached for the bird again. Still too far. As she straightened and attempted to jump to the next rock, a particularly high wave knocked into her. She struggled to stay steady but felt her feet start to slip...  
Strong arms reached out of nowhere and caught her as she fell, pulling her back to safety.  
"Daddy-!"  
Craig jerked awake with a start. 


	8. Surprises

Joey was surprised to wake up the next morning and discover Craig was already in the kitchen eating breakfast.  
"Craig! What are you doing up?"  
Craig had a slight smile on his face. "I felt better."  
Joey chuckled as he poured himself some coffee. "About time. What brought this change around?"  
"Manny's pregnant."  
Joey spit out his coffee. It splattered all over his socks and he immediately began to hop around in pain. Quickly, he yanked them off then dried off his feet with a dish towel. Craig just sat there laughing. "Manny's what?"  
  
"Pregnant. And I'm the father. But it's going to be okay." Craig seemed oddly chipper. "I'm going to have a little girl. Or boy. I'll get to raise it and be the best dad I can." He smiled dreamily.  
"Uh, Craig?" Joey stared at him. "Aren't you forgetting a little something?"  
"What?"  
"Uh, the fact that you're fifteen, don't have a job, have yet to finish high school..."  
Craig waved his hand. "Joey, it'll be fine. I mean sure it's going to be hard but I'm going to have a family. My own little family. With Manny and our baby." Craig looked so happy, Joey hated to burst his bubble.  
"Craig, it isn't going to be all sunshine and roses. How are you going to afford things? How are you going to take care of the baby and still go to school? How could you be so irresponsible?"  
Craig frowned. "Irresponsible? No that's the one thing I'm not going to be. Not anymore. Joey you shouldn't worry so much. It makes you miss out on a lot of things." He got up and put his plate in the sink. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go somewhere very important." He left, leaving Joey stunned, and holding wet socks in one hand, and the other hand up to his forehead.  
"Oh boy."  
  


* * *

  
By the time Manny awoke that morning, Emma had already left for school, claiming she had an early meeting. The two girls had been avoiding each other as much as possible since they had their fight the day before.  
Manny was excited and dreading the day at the same time. It would be her first real picture of the baby. The situation was both terrifying and exhilarating.  
Spike drove her to the clinic and dropped her off before heading to work. She wished her luck and promised to pick her up whenever she called.  
It was only a few minutes before Dr. Perone called Manny into a room.  
"Hello Manny," the doctor said warmly. She motioned for Manny to lie down on the bed. After running some other tests, she told her it was time for the sonogram. Manny took a deep breath as Dr. Perone pulled the machine next to the bed.  
Just as she was lifting her shirt, the door opened. Craig entered the room, looking breathless but smiling.  
"Craig?" Manny was stunned.  
"Hey, Manny." Craig came to stand by the bed.  
  
"I'll be back in a few minutes," Dr. Perone said with a smile. She left the room quickly, closing the door gently behind her.  
"Craig...what are you doing here?" Manny propped herself up on her elbows.  
Craig pulled a stool over and sat in it then took Manny's hand. "Because I was a fool and I want to make it up to you." He glanced at her stomach. "And to our baby."  
Manny was dumbfounded. "You-you mean you want to be involved?"  
Craig nodded. "More than anything. I'm so sorry for the way I've been acting. I had a couple of wake-up calls, thank God. See, the reason why I reacted the way I did and the reason why I broke up with you was because I was terrified of losing someone else I cared about like I lost my mom and dad and Angie."  
"Of course and it's expected that you would be afraid of that," Manny said, rubbing his hand.  
"Yeah, only I just now realized that living my life like that, I might as well be dead too." Craig's eyes were shining with unshed tears but his face was happy. "I'll still miss them all more than anything, but with Joey and you and this baby...you won't replace them but you can maybe be my new family."  
Manny felt a tear slip out of her eye and down her cheek. She leaned forward and kissed Craig hard on the lips. As he kissed her back, for the first time in months, she didn't feel so alone.  
  


* * *

  
Dr. Perone came back a few minutes later. "Are we all ready to go?"  
Manny nodded, smiling broadly.  
"Hi, I'm the lucky father, Craig," Craig said, sticking out his hand. Dr. Perone shook it firmly.  
"Nice to meet you, Craig. I'm Dr. Perone. You're just in time." She smeared a clear gel onto Manny's stomach. "Here we go."  
Craig gripped Manny's hand tightly. His heart was beating a mile per minute and he felt like he was going to throw up. In a good way.  
Suddenly, a loud thumping noise filled the room and Craig jumped. "What's that?"  
"That's your baby's heartbeat," Dr. Perone told him.  
Manny looked at Craig, her brown eyes shining. "Oh God. It's so fast."  
"Don't worry, that's normal." Dr. Perone moved the instrument along Manny's stomach. "Here look." She pointed to the screen. "That's your baby."  
Craig squinted and managed to make out a squirming black and white figure on the monitor beside him. "Is it a boy or a girl?"  
"It's a little too early to tell."  
Manny squeezed Craig's hand. "Isn't it beautiful?"  
  
"Yeah it's incredible." Craig reached out a trembling hand to touch the screen. It was really there, growing inside Manny's stomach.  
"I'm going to print out a copy for you two to keep."  
Craig kissed Manny on the forehead. "I can't wait until it's born."  
"Me too." As Manny spoke the words, she realized how deeply she meant it. For a long time, she had been looking at this baby as a burden, as something that was going to ruin her life. Now she realized how much she really wanted to just hold it in her arms.  
"Here you go." The doctor handed Manny the sheet. She smiled down at her baby.  
"Thank you."  
  
After talking for a few minutes more and setting up a later appointment, Craig and Manny left the office. Manny headed for the payphone but Craig grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the door instead. "Come on, let's take a walk."  
"Okay." Manny followed him down the street to the park. The sun was a lightbulb in the blue ceiling that was the sky. It was still a bit cold out and Manny shivered as they walked. Craig put his arm around her, pressing her close to him. They reached the park and seated themselves on the swings.  
Manny spoke first. "So what was it that made you change your mind?"  
Craig smiled. "Actually, I had a couple of visitors yesterday."  
"Oh yeah? Who?"  
"First JT." Craig chuckled. "He called me a jerk."  
  
Manny laughed. "Really? I can't believe he did that."  
"Yeah, he's a good guy." Craig started to swing slightly. "And then Ash came over."  
Manny raised her eyebrows. "Ashley?"  
"Yeah. She told me what she did. She's real sorry about it, Manny. And she did help me figure out a lot of the stuff I told you about before." Craig dragged his feet on the ground, slowing the swing. He wasn't ready to tell anyone about the dream yet. Maybe someday, in the future, but not yet.  
  
Manny took all of this in. "Well I guess it doesn't matter. The point is, is that you came today."  
"Yeah...hey, what do you think we should name the baby?" Craig asked suddenly.  
"Um, I dunno," Manny replied, a bit thrown off by the question. "Why, do you have something in mind?"  
Craig shrugged. "Oh, I don't know, Jordan for a boy, and Mandy for a girl."  
  
Manny grinned. "Someone's been thinking about this."  
Craig shrugged again. "When I was younger, I sometimes thought about this kind of stuff."  
"So why those two names?"  
"Well, Jordan was in this book that I used to read when I was a kid. I wanted to be just like him. When, um, my parents used to f-fight, I would just close my door and get lost in the story."  
Manny smiled tenderly at him. "And what about Mandy?"  
Craig half-smiled as he thought back. "Well, my mom was a huge Barry Manilow fan. That song was always playing when she was alive."  
"What was your mother like? That is, if you want to talk about it," Manny added quickly.  
Craig nodded. "Sure. Um, well let's see. We used to live in British Columbia. Big house. She was a kindergarten teacher so she was always home when I got home from school." He chuckled. "It always smelt like something when I got home."  
"She baked a lot?" Manny asked.  
Craig grinned. "Yeah she was always trying different recipes but none of them ever quite came out like they were supposed to. My dad was always complaining about it." The smile left his face and Manny saw a hint of the Craig that she had seen at the hospital after his sister died.  
"So you said she listened to Barry Manilow a lot?" Manny said, quickly changing the subject.  
"Yeah, she used to sing a lot. She had a good voice. Used to sing to me when I was little." Craig suddenly didn't want to talk about his mother anymore. "It's getting late," he said, looking at his watch. "You should call Spike before she starts to worry." He got up and led Manny to a nearby pay phone. She made the call and they began to walk back to the clinic.  
Craig was silent as he thought about the future as well as his past. He vowed right then and there that he would never turn out like his father. He was going to do everything in his power to protect his child and never lose his temper.  
Craig's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sound of a horn blasting. He looked up to see a black car pull over to the curb right beside him. In the drivers seat was a guy he didn't know but leaning out the passenger side window was Jay, one of Sean's new friends.  
"Hey, Manning!" he shouted.  
Craig squinted in the sunlight at the car, trying to look as tough as he could.  
Jay grinned, looking Manny up and down. "Nice job getting it on with Miss Santos. Too bad you knocked her up." He laughed loudly before the car sped off.  
Craig balled his hands into fists, wishing he could chase after them and slam Jay's head against the wall. He looked over at Manny who was staring at the ground. "Hey, Manny, don't worry about what they said. They're idiots. Morons. Imbeciles."  
"Yeah but you didn't see everyone in school yesterday. They were pretty much acting just like that." Manny started to walk again, slightly farther away from Craig.  
Craig closed the gap between them and took Manny's hand. "Come on, Manny, you know that they have no idea what they're talking about. What we're going through is something that they'll never understand."  
"I guess." Manny looked at Craig suddenly. "What do you think about abortion?" 


	9. Ready or Not

"What do I think about what?" Craig asked, shocked, letting Manny's hand go.

"Abortion. Not that I want one," Manny added quickly. "Just in general."

Craig shook his head. "I dunno. In general, I'm not really against them but in this case, I really am. Manny, you can't abort our baby."

"I'm not going to!" Manny insisted. "I just suddenly thought about it. How much easier just…everything would be, you know? We could still be together just without the baby. We could worry about that later on. When we're really ready."

Craig stopped walking and stared at her. "You're really thinking about this aren't you? I-I thought we agreed that we were going to have the baby and face up to our responsibilities. Please, you can't--"

"Craig, I don't want to give up this baby," Manny told him firmly. "I just was wondering about it, that's all." She tugged his hand and they continued walking. "This way can be okay too. I don't think I would be able to live with the guilt anyway."

Craig felt slightly relieved but kept glancing at Manny out of the corner of his eye as they waited for Spike to arrive, still a bit worried.

* * *

  


Manny arrived home that day just as Emma was getting out of school. Spike had taken her out for lunch and they talked about what had happened. Now as Manny walked up the path to the front door, Emma stood there, fiddling with her keys. She turned upon hearing Manny and her mother approaching.

"Hey," she said, glancing quickly at Manny. "How did everything go?"

"Fine," Spike replied. She looked back and forth between the two girls then stepped forward to unlock the door. "I'm going inside. You two are staying out here and talking." With that she shut the door firmly behind her. Manny heard the lock click in place.

"Gee, what a great mom I have, locking me out of my own house," Emma muttered. She sighed and turned to Manny. "Look, I don't want to be in a fight with you, especially now."

"Me neither," Manny agreed. Both girls went to sit on the long swing that hung from the front porch. "But you hurt me a lot yesterday."

"I know I did. It didn't come out the way I meant it. I wasn't saying that I was on Ashley's side or that what she did was right. It was just that I understood why she did it."

"Yeah I know. I guess a part of me was just realizing that my slut attack was the reason why all this happened. But now I'm kind of seeing a silver lining." She proceeded to explain what had happened that morning with Craig.

"Well that's good. I'm glad he came around," Emma said.

Manny reached into her bag suddenly and pulled out the sonogram. "This is the baby."

Emma took it and studied it. "Wow. Uh, where is it?"

Manny smiled. "Right there." She pointed it out and let her finger linger on the image for a second.

"Oh. Wow, that's amazing." Emma handed it back to her. "Do you know if it's a boy or girl yet?"

"It's too early to tell. I'm kinda hoping for a girl but we'll see." Manny leaned her head against her best friend's shoulder as they rocked gently. "Is it really going to be as hard as they say it is?"

"I don't know. My mom told me it was hard but she didn't have the father to help her. I guess it's different for every case."

"I just don't want this baby to have a miserable life just because I'm an idiot," Manny said, rubbing her stomach. "I want to give it all that I can but there's things I want to do too."

"Well, I know my mom will try to help you as much as she can."

"Yeah but she's busy with Snake and baby Jack. She's got enough on her mind. I wonder if Joey will help us out any." Manny played with the string on her jacket.

Emma shrugged. "Probably. He's pretty cool."

"I just…I just wish my parents had been more supportive." Manny sighed. "Then again, I didn't exactly expect them to throw me a baby shower or anything."

"Well, you have me," Emma told her. "And now Craig." She chuckled slightly. "Maybe what Cher and Sonny sang about was true."

Manny didn't smile. "I sure hope so."

* * *

  


The months seemed to fly by. The end of the school year approached and the weather warmed. Manny's stomach grew and with it so did her worries. She had dismissed the idea of an abortion but still spent most of her time trying to figure out what kind of future she and the baby would have. Craig on the other hand was growing more and more excited about the prospect of having his own family. Joey agreed to turn his office into a nursery for the baby. They had toyed with the idea of using Angela's room but decided against it. They weren't quite ready to change anything in her room yet.

The gossip at school seemed to have died down and while some people had stopped talking to them, most of their friends were supportive. A baby shower was thrown in their honor in Mr. Simpson's classroom and they received tons of diapers, baby clothes, toys and other things that would be useful to them. It was at times like these, Manny forgot all her worries and was just as happy as Craig was about the baby.

Manny went back home to discover that her parents really had cooled down. They were still upset over what had happened but forgave her. They had a long emotional talk and her parents agreed to help as much as they could.

Finally the school year was over. Craig and Joey spent many days and nights working on the nursery, putting up yellow wallpaper and setting up Angela's old crib. Craig and Manny were together often, discussing baby names and what sex the baby would be, as they had decided to wait until the birth to find out.

A week before Manny's due date, Craig decided to take her some place special. Joey dropped them off at the cemetery early that evening. Craig took Manny's hand and led her over to a grassy area where two tombstones were close together, one slightly smaller than the other.

"I know you already saw them at Ange's funeral," Craig said, kneeling. "But I just wanted us to see them again before our baby is born."

Manny smiled down at him, leaning against a nearby tomb.

Craig turned to his mother's grave. "Hey, mom. I know it's been a long time since I've visited but I've been real busy. I'm going to be a dad! I hope you're not mad. I know I acted a foolishly but it's okay now. Manny's wonderful and we're going to be really happy." He looked up at Manny with his eyes shining. "She would love you. Just like I do. Well not just like I do…" He grinned.

Manny leaned over to kiss him on the lips. Just as the kiss was deepening, she pulled away.

"What?"

She didn't answer instead started laughing with her eyes wide.

Craig stood up. "What's so funny?"

She caught her breath. "My water just broke."

"WHAT?"

Still grinning, Manny nodded.

"How is that funny?" Craig cried, as he looked around frantically, trying to figure out what to do.

"I think I'm having one of those moments where something is so totally unfunny that you can't help but laugh at it," Manny replied. She pointed. "Go call Joey."

"Right." Craig dashed across the street to the payphone then turned and ran back to Manny. "I don't have any change."

"Call collect!" Manny cried.

"Right!" Struggling to breathe, Craig hurried back to the payphone and dialed with shaking fingers. When Joey answered, he could barely speak. "J-joey! Baby! Now! Hurry!"

"Whoa, whoa, slow down, Craig. What's going on?"

"Manny! Baby!" Craig was still having difficulty forming complete sentences. "She's having it!"

"Now? Right now? At the cemetery?"

"Yes! HURRY!" Craig slammed down the phone then raced back to Manny, narrowly avoiding being hit by two cars. She was now sitting on the grass, holding her stomach.

"Joey's on his way!"

"I think we have some time," Manny told him.

Craig knelt next to her, rubbing her back. "Breathe! Heehee whooo."

Manny suppressed a laugh. "It's okay, Craig. I'm not having contractions yet."

"Okay, sorry, I'm just kind of in crazy mode right now. Not used to this." Craig broke out into a grin. "Oh my God, the baby's really coming! Our baby's almost here!"

"I know." Manny squeezed his hand. All of her previous doubts flew out of her mind. She really wanted this baby.

They both jumped at the sound of a horn honking and squealing tires. There was a loud screech and Joey's red convertible pulled up next to the curb. He looked breathless and there were several angry drivers making gestures at him before driving away. He was waving frantically at them. "GET IN! COME ON!"  
Craig and Manny looked at each other.

"Guess Joey's craziness rubbed off on you," Manny remarked.


	10. Lessons

They got to the hospital in no time, with several near accidents. Manny was starting to have contractions as they screeched to a halt in front of the emergency room doors. Craig helped her into an empty wheelchair while Joey went to check them in. They were brought to an empty room and within a few minutes Dr. Perone had arrived.  
"Manny, congratulations," she said with a smile as she began checking out her patient. "You're about...eight centimeters already. It shouldn't be long. Keep breathing sweetie, I'll be back in a couple of minutes to get you into the delivery room."  
Manny barely registered what the doctor said as she gripped Craig's hand tightly. She struggled to concentrate on her breathing, grimacing through the pain.  
"You're doing real good," Craig said, looking at his watch, trying to remember what he had learned in childbirth class. "This one should be almost over..."  
She leaned back against the pillow with a gasp as the contraction ended, pushing her hair away from her sweaty forehead.  
Joey entered the room just then with a camcorder in his hand. "Smile for the camera, guys!"  
Manny waved her arms. "No, no I look horrible."  
Craig kissed her hand. "You look great." He looked at Joey. "But save the camera for later, okay? I don't think you're gonna be allowed in the delivery room anyway. Why don't you call up Caitlin...or Spike?"  
"Yeah and Emma," Manny added.  
Joey nodded, still bouncing with excitement. "Sure sure right away." He hurried out of the room as the two of them shook their heads laughing.  
Just then, the door to the room and opened and two nurses came in to bring Manny to the delivery room. They got her settled onto an upright bed and Craig took a seat beside her, holding onto her hand.  
"You're at ten centimeters, it's time. This was a quick labor, you're lucky," Dr Perone said. "We're gonna get ready to push okay, Manny? Ready? One...two...three...push!"  
  
Manny let out a cry as she pushed as hard as she could, squeezing Craig's hand with all her might. He let out a whimper of pain but bit his lip to hold back the sound.  
"The head it out!" Dr. Perone announced. "We're gonna need another push, Manny."  
Manny leaned back, trying to catch her breath, tears streaming down her face. "I can't..."  
"Yes you can," Craig urged her. "Manny, you are so strong, you can do this. You can."  
"Craig..." She looked into his eyes and saw the unwavering faith there. "O-okay." She took a deep breath then grunted as she pushed with the last of her strength. Then she heard the most beautiful sound. A baby crying.  
"It's girl," Craig breathed. "Manny, it's a beautiful girl...covered in jello."  
Manny laughed through her tears as Craig kissed her on the forehead. The doctor cleaned off the baby then handed her to Manny. "Oh she is beautiful." She glanced at Craig who was staring down at the baby in awe, his eyes brimming with tears and felt a surge of affection.  
"Hi there," he whispered, reaching out a hand to stroke the baby's cheek as its piercing wails began to die down. "I'm your daddy, and this lovely lady is your mommy and you're Mandy. Our daughter." He looked up Manny, wiping his eyes. "Who do you think she looks more like?"  
Manny leaned her head against Craig's. "She looks a little like Ange, don't you think?" Craig cocked his head. "Yeah she does. " Then he fell silent, looking back and forth between the two. A real family, he thought, wonder what that's gonna be like. Still even with the future so uncertain, Craig was sure it would be filled with joy and love. He had suffered through so much pain and finally that light at the end of the tunnel was approaching. He had thought that with happiness only came despair but now he realized that despair could also bring happiness. Mistakes had been made but were also learned from. Life isn't about perfect bliss, it's about making the most of what you're given. Craig understood all this now and he was ready for whatever would come.  
  
+++  
  
So ends the saga. Hope you guys enjoyed it. Keep an eye out for another Degrassi fic from me, totally different from this one. ( 


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